UPS Imposes Shipping Limits on Nike, Macy's, Gap, Other Retailers
UPS reportedly told its drivers on Cyber Monday to stop picking up packages at some of the largest retailers in the U.S., such as Nike and Gap, after they reached capacity allocations set by the delivery company. The shipping company also halted package pickups for Macy’s, L.L.Bean, Hot Topic, and Newegg, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing internal documents confirmed by UPS employees in different regions. UPS had set “specific capacity allocations” for its customers over Black Friday weekend and throughout the holiday season as it works to deliver packages at record volumes, Glenn Zaccara, UPS’ director of media relations, told CNBC on Wednesday.
Total Retail's Take: "Shipageddon," as one Total Retail contributor referred to the combination of the expected massive increase in online holiday sales and delivery demand with maxed out national carriers such as UPS, has begun and only figures to intensify as we get further into the holiday shopping season. To help alleviate the shipping crunch expected this month, retailers offered holiday deals earlier this year in an attempt to spread out the season over a longer period of time, preventing delivery delays and missed shipments in the process. However, as noted above, retailers are already reaching capacity allocations, and we still have weeks of shopping left in the holiday season. While the delayed orders will eventually be delivered to customers, that's dependent on more capacity becoming available in UPS' network. Whether that's this week or Dec. 26 remains to be seen.
To help address potential shipping capacity challenges, retailers are making additional fulfillment options available to customers, such as buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) and curbside pickup. Those efforts combined with continued messaging imploring customers to shop early this holiday season will hopefully ensure gifts are delivered on time. At stake is customer experience and brand loyalty, so in other words, a lot.
